About100 concerned young scientists are currently
looking at ways of making food available to 9.6billion people in the world and another
two billion people by 2050, NaijaAgroNet
reports.
This information emerged from an
interactive discussion designed to mark the 65th Lindau Nobel
Lauraete Meeting this year. The meeting which witnessed a record number of 65
laureates and over 650 young scientists meeting in Germany from June 28-July 3,
is meant to discuss solutions to world food problem.
Mars’ Chief Agricultural Officer,
Howard-Yana Shapiro, NaijaAgroNet
gathered, spoke during the discussion about the need to look beyond calories:
“undernourishment is really just the tip of the iceberg. Deficiencies in
nutrients like iron, vitamin B12, folate, vitamin A, affect huge numbers of
people around the world and lead to physical and cognitive stunting”, in a
world where an estimated 2 billion people are anaemic.
Report says that over six decades
after the Green Revolution, malnutrition still stares vast majority of the
world in the face; meanwhile, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, had
said that almost 800 million people worldwide are undernourished. With the
global population predicted to rise to between 9 and 10 billion by 2050, NaijaAgroNet learnt, the world faces an increasingly uncertain future
that demands a coordinated response from all sectors and disciplines.
According to Steven Chu who was
awarded the Nobel Prize in 1997 and served as the US Secretary of Energy in the
first Obama administration, “the food system is one of the greatest
contributors to climate change and will also be one its greatest victims. But
agriculture can mitigate worsening climatic stresses if sustainable practices
are adopted at scale.” Chu currently teaches at Stanford University, where he
is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular
and Cellular Physiology.
Once every year, NaijaAgroNet reports, some dozens of Nobel Laureates convene at Lindau to
meet the next generation of leading scientists: undergraduates, PhD students,
and post-doc researchers from all over the world. The Lindau Nobel Laureate
Meetings foster the exchange among scientists of different generations,
cultures, and disciplines. The 65th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is dedicated
to interdisciplinary scientific exchange.
Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE
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